December 26, 2023		INDEX
The world edges closer to a major war
What looks like the slow build up to a World War, or a war in which the major military powers confront each directly rather than using proxies, took a big step forward with an American attack on three sites used by Kataeb Hezbollah and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq. The immediate cause of the assault was a drone attack on the American Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on Monday. Aljazeera says US officials have reported at least 103 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17. Which begs the question: what are US troops doing in Iraq, Syria and Kurdistan? What will Iran do? Probably nothing or to put it another way it will just continue supporting the low level campaign run by its proxies. The real danger is that Israel, a country that has a history of conducting deadly pre-emptive strikes, may hit Iran on the pretext of preventing an Iranian attack. Such an assault could be nuclear if Israel believes it is now facing an existential threat. What was the point in developing nukes if there were no circumstances under which they would be used? Aljazeera says "20,424 Palestinians have been killed since October 7".
INDEX Jonathan Brind	December 26, 2023